Can CBD help count sheep?

Insomnia, sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome are but a few of the ills that fall under the category of sleep conditions. Though not quick to receive much attention from the healthcare community, the threat associated with sleep conditions – from obesity to cardiovascular disease – is stark.

According to Statistics Canada, around 35 percent of Canadians over 15 report having trouble sleeping. While it’s recommended that adults of essentially every age get around eight hours of sleep per day, a range of sleeping disorders have an increasing number of people counting sheep at night.1

As the list of sleep disorders continues to grow, people are seeking treatment for their symptoms. From traditional sleeping pills to the use of melatonin, there are various options being explored in this area. Because of its analgesic qualities, cannabidiol (CBD) has started to be viewed as a sleep aid with much future promise.

What is CBD?

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a cannabinoid found in the cannabis plant that possesses strictly therapeutic properties. Unlike another more notorious cannabinoid, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), CBD doesn’t appear to produce psychotropic effects but, rather, is popular among patients as an anti-inflammatory and anticonvulsant, among other qualities.

What Does It Do?

Cannabidiol has proved an impressive agent for combatting a range of ailments – chronic pain, Crohn’s disease and cancer, to name a few. At its most impressive, CBD has been reported to help dramatically, or completely, eliminate seizures in patients with epilepsy and Dravet syndrome.2

How Can CBD Help?

Using cannabis flowers and oils that are low in THC, and relatively high in CBD, before bed has shown to help significantly improve sleep patterns for some patients. Incorporating a low dose of CBD oil, even alongside traditional options like melatonin, may well prove to be a new way to battle an age-old condition.

References:
1. “Duration and quality of sleep among Canadian aged 18 to 79.” https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-003-x/2017009/article/54857-eng.htm
2. “7 benefits and uses of CBD oil.” https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cbd-oil-benefits

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Cannabis worked for six-year-old Kate Pogson when no other medication helped her. As someone with epilepsy, she suffered hour-long seizures once every two days before her family discovered the value of CBD-heavy cannabis oil, says her father Barry in an interview.

Robust is one way to define the current breadth of research that involves the cannabis and its
chemical parts. Across the planet – namely in states and countries where medical cannabis is
permitted – scientists are becoming increasingly invested in discovering the full potential of the
cannabis plant. To date, those studies have focussed tightly on the isolating and use of particular
cannabinoids, and the prospect that isolated cannabis molecules may hold the key to any number
of conditions. With these advancements, researchers have been able to add significant scientific
knowledge, data and innovation to the medical cannabis discussion.

Cannabis has been used by cultures the world over – from the hunters and gatherers of China, to the philosophers of ancient Greece – for thousands of years. With its roots in the Himalayan mountains, the cannabis plant has spread across the globe, its seed carried on the wind, often without the help of human hands.

In addition to the two most studied cannabinoids, THC and CBD, there are over 60 other
cannabis molecules that have been isolated by researchers. While the list of clinical applications
for particular cannabinoids remains short – CBG, CBC, CBN, and a handful of others – the
prospect that others will produce therapeutic results is promising.

For two particular reasons, there are few topics being explored in the cannabis space more
exhilarating than the endocannabinoid system. First, for a lack of research in the area, medical
schools have almost exclusively omitted the system from the curriculum. Second, as drug
policies have evolved, researchers have been allowed to study the system, and its inherent
connection to cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant.

The proverbial line between culture survey and scientific fact is no more blurred than when
discussing cannabis in the context of taxonomy. For decades now, patients have purchased
cannabis-based products in line with the cultural characterization of an indica as sedating, sativa
as energizing, and a hybrid strain falling somewhere in the middle. But many contemporary
botanists argue this distinction is unnecessary, and used merely to serve market purposes.

While cannabis has been used for thousands of yards as a therapeutic agent, its commercial
viability has only taken shape in the last century. Contemporary treatment is now characterized
by a plethora of products in a variety of concentrations, traditional cannabis therapy revolved
around one product: tinctures.

As medical cannabis has gained acceptance as a viable treatment option over the past two decades,
so too has the list of symptoms the plant has been shown to help grown. No longer is the plant merely
used to treat chronic pain or extreme conditions like HIV/AIDS, it now complements nearly every
therapy option available.

As a flurry of new products have flooded the budding cannabis market in recent years, so too have those developments come to represent a wealth of hope for medical patients, or anyone
looking for an alternative therapy. Where, traditionally, cannabis was consumed by inhalation – combusting flowers in a joint or pipe – the contemporary cannabis discussion is one
characterized by advancement and sophistication.

In the simplest of terms, cannabinoids are the chemical compounds that lend cannabis its medical
and recreational characteristics. These chemicals interact with the body’s cells when consumed
to produce a range of therapeutic effects. Found in the plant’s trichomes, more commonly known
as crystals, cannabinoids are, in essence, the heart and soul of the cannabis plant.

December brings with it a flurry of things to be grateful for: the first snowfalls, the holiday season, time with family and friends, and a reprieve from the hustle and bustle that characterizes most every other month of the year. But for people who suffer from seasonal affective disorder, December can also mean the beginning of an annual depression that starts when winter first flexes its icy grip on the human psyche.

The decision to adopt cannabis as a treatment option is, like most significant changes in life, very
personal. Whether you’ve decided to incorporate medical cannabis into your routine to treat
chronic pain, sleep issues, cancer symptoms or social anxiety, you’ve likely done so primarily
for one reason: to feel better.

Can cannabis cure cancer? To date, there is no scientific evidence to back the theory that
cannabis kills cancer cells. In fact, most responsible cannabis professionals – leery of a culture of
misinformation – will caution patients to ignore that claim.

The list of sophisticated new cannabis products lining product shelves of this new space is extensive, and impressive. More often than not, these products serve as a responsible introduction to medical cannabis. Where pipes and bongs have a tendency to lend stereotype to any conversation of cannabis therapy, new delivery methods like oils, edibles and topicals tend to have exactly the opposite effect.

Cannabis treatment is a moot therapy option without a firm grasp on how to dose. This very fact has perhaps been best illustrated by the fact the medical community, until recently, has shied away from throwing full support behind the plant and its potential. However, as new products develop, and fresh ways of dosing have become available to patients, so too have the means of dosing surfaced. As a result, more and more practitioners have started prescribing cannabis- based concentrates.